Female Homosexual Offenders In England and Wales Are Now Eligible For Pardon

The United Kingdom is broadening its amnesty programme for anyone convicted of illegal acts related to their sexual orientation. Women in England and Wales can petition to have old gay offences wiped from their records now.

Pardons for violations of sodomy statutes that date back to the 19th century were previously exclusively available to men.

The new, broader programme will allow women who were discharged from the British armed forces due to their sexuality to reapply for their medals.

This is an expansion of a previous amnesty programme in the United Kingdom to include servicemen and women.

Before the year 2000, members of the LGBTQ+ community were denied entry into or were otherwise discharged from the armed forces. Convictions can now be petitioned for reversal by veterans as well.

Those who were wrongfully imprisoned under antiquated British laws that criminalised gay and lesbian behaviour are eligible for pardons through the Disregards and Pardons programme, which was established in 2012. The administration said in an online statement that convictions would be expunged from official records and that applicants for jobs would not be required to divulge them.

Since 2012, 208 men have been granted pardons by the government under this programme. More than 400 applications have been denied because of insufficient coverage for felony convictions. However, the new, broader amnesty might make it so that some of them are eligible.

Sarah Dines, the Minister for Safeguarding, issued a statement encouraging those who have convictions or cautions for same-sex sexual activity under an outlawed offence to seek new ones.

In 1967, homosexuality was officially decriminalised in the United Kingdom and Wales.

Although indecency laws have not explicitly criminalised homosexual acts between women, they have been used to penalise those who engage in them.

The administration claims it cannot predict how many women will apply for pardons under the new programme and would instead handle each request individually.

British politicians have argued that this amnesty expansion is a crucial move towards making up for historical wrongs. Human rights organisations applauded the move but argued that those who have been unfairly treated shouldn’t have to seek pardons because the pardons should be granted automatically.

In the government release, representatives of the LGBTQ+ military organisation, Fighting with Pride, Craig Jones and Caroline Paige, were reported as calling the expanded amnesty a “small step in the right direction.”